Yeatman might no longer be a longshot with Patriots

Tuesday

Aug 30, 2011 at 6:00 AM

By Rich Garven TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

The Patriots drafted two tight ends last year, selecting Rob Gronkowski in the second round and Aaron Hernandez in the fourth. The investments proved to be astute and paid immediate dividends as both players turned in strong rookie seasons.

In April, they added Lee Smith to the mix, taking the Marshall product in the fifth round. Smith arrived here with a reputation as an outstanding blocker, a role filled last season by highly respected veteran Alge Crumpler, who was released at the start of training camp.

Considering most teams carry no more than three tight ends and the Patriots had drafted three in the span of a year, it didn’t seem like the best idea for an undrafted rookie to come here this summer in search of employment at that position.

On the other hand, the Patriots have had at least one undrafted rookie make the 53-man roster every year since 2004.

Will Yeatman, a former two-sport standout at the University of Maryland who was bypassed in April’s draft, was well aware of the pluses and minuses of the situation when he signed with the Patriots July 26, spurning offers from other teams. Teams that might have seemingly had more of a need at tight end.

But in the end, he felt this was the best place to attempt to launch his NFL career.

“I like it here,” Yeatman said recently after practice, repeatedly citing the greatness of the organization. “My job is to compete every day as hard as I can and do whatever I can and whatever the coaching staff wants me do. Obviously, there’s great talent here at the tight end position and it’s great to be around those guys, to compete with them daily.”

So far, so good.

Although still listed at the bottom of the Patriots’ unofficial depth chart, based on training-camp observations and his use in the preseason, it appears Yeatman has overtaken Smith and first-year pro Carson Butler in his bid to become the third — and most likely last — tight end to make the team when the final round of cuts are made Saturday.

Not that he’s going there.

“Right now, all I can say is I’m working hard and doing as much as I can do, whatever they need me to do,” Yeatman said. “That’s really the extent of it.”

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds (he appears both taller and heavier), Yeatman is a proficient blocker. But he also displayed a reliable set of hands during camp and has four receptions for 23 yards in the preseason.

That production might seem modest, but Yeatman caught just 19 passes in 39 games in college. Thirteen of them, including his only career touchdown, came last fall as a senior at Maryland after having sat out the previous year as a transfer student.

“He’s worked hard,” coach Bill Belichick said. “He’s a smart kid, in good condition. He’s been able to take a lot of snaps. I think he’s benefited from those extra reps and so forth. I think he’s making progress. He’s certainly got a long way to go, but he’s come a long way as well. He’s made a lot of strides since the beginning of training camp.”

Yeatman moves extremely well for a guy his size. He credits it to lacrosse.

A former high school All-American, he played that sport and football at both Maryland and Notre Dame, from which he transferred midway through his junior year after a pair of alcohol-related incidents.

“There are so many aspects of the game — the finesse, the physicality, the movement, the teamwork — that are great for all athletes to play and I think it’s helped me out to be a better football player,” said Yeatman, who played attack and has drawn the attention of the U.S. national team.

Yeatman, the middle child in a family of five, was born in Italy and raised in San Diego as his dad, a Navy officer, got around. He also has a local connection.

Yeatman’s grandmother grew up in Worcester. Mabel McClellan became a nurse in the Navy and married Richard Yeatman, a Navy pilot. The two settled in Annapolis, Md., for the rest of their lives.